I’m sure we are all well aware that one of the greatest weaknesses in the Charismatic Renewal is the visible lack of unity we often find between our different groups and ministries. Where there is disunity and division the work of the Holy Spirit is undermined.

When Pope Francis addressed more than 50,000 Catholic charismatics at the Olympic Stadium in Rome on June 1st 2014, he gave us his six “expectations” of the world-wide Renewal. His final expectation was this:

“Seek unity in the Renewal because unity comes from the Holy Spirit and is born of the unity of the Trinity. From whom does division come? From the Devil! Division comes from the Devil. Flee from internal fights please! They must not exist among us!”

These are powerful words from the Holy Father who clearly sees division of any sort as a work of the Devil which must be consciously and deliberately resisted, and we do well to remember that these are also the words of someone who loves the Renewal and who knows us well. He sees what happens when there is division among us, and how it undermines the life-changing work of baptism in the Holy Spirit. Most of us know he is absolutely right because we too have seen for ourselves the results of division and negative attitudes. We may even on occasions have contributed to the problem.

Charismatic Renewal has something essential and very powerful to give to the Church, baptism in the Holy Spirit, and has produced a rich harvest of visible fruit—prayer groups, many different kinds of communities, organizations promoting and training people for the new evangelization, special ministries, houses of prayer and formation, and much more. The list is impressive. The Lord has given the vision for each of these to individual men and women, but it’s important to remember that all are inspired and empowered by the same Holy Spirit and have been established to extend the same Kingdom. While each of us has a clear responsibility to be faithful to our God-given vision, we must never become critical of what others are doing just because it’s different. There’s no place in God’s plan for narrow-minded people or for personal empire builders. The vision he’s given us recognizes our individuality but requires us to co-operate with others. This means we have to invest time and energy in building positive relationships with those in the Renewal who may not share our particular vision.

There are four key values which must be present in every relationship: Trust, Respect, Understanding, Love. Of these, Trust is the most fragile. It’s both a decision and a process; it depends on character and demands honesty rather than perfection. Respect means we recognize someone’s dignity, value and worth; it’s all about who they are, not about what they do, and it calls for concrete expressions of encouragement and affirmation. Understanding does not mean agreement, but when someone knows I understand them it releases them from the on-going need to justify their beliefs and actions. Finally Love—a greatly over-used word which in this context is simply a decision we make and to which we remain faithful no matter what may happen.

Our claims to be filled with the Spirit are meaningless if our attitudes and behavior do not show love. Love bears all things, believes the best and holds on even when people let me down again and again (1 Cor 13). If we are perfect in doctrine, abundantly gifted by God but lacking in love, then we have failed. Love lies at the heart of all our relationships. It’s easy to maintain a loving relationship at arm’s length—to meet on a rather superficial and trivial level. But when we get close and involved with each other we soon discover how good our relationships really are. We will often find it difficult to relate to certain people, and this is where we need to turn to God for help.

Why am I pushing this point? Because good relationships are the key to avoiding disunity in the Renewal but they demand our time, effort and commitment, often for little obvious personal gain. They may be very costly, but they’re essential. I need to work out my particular God-given vision alongside all the others in the Renewal. There’s nothing new about this, even though I often meet people who think that anyone who doesn’t share their particular vision must be wrong. But the Lord has always given many different visions; just look at the rich variety of the religious orders. “The parts are many but the body is one” (1 Cor 12:20). We all share in the common mission to live the Gospel and to make disciples of all the nations. If I do my part and encourage other people to do theirs, the Renewal will be much more effective, but all our efforts are undermined when there are internal fights, as we know to our shame.

So let’s be supportive, encouraging and speak well of the many other groups, organizations and movements in the Church and particularly of those in the Renewal who are called to a huge variety of ministries and areas of service. Let’s invest time and effort in keeping our relationships strong, our love flowing, and commit ourselves to praying for one another. Then we’ll see even more fruit and the Kingdom of God will be extended on many fronts. We need to see things as God sees them and to work side by side with those who have different visions and callings to achieve together his divine purposes. So much more is possible when we enjoy good relationships. As Pope Francis exhorted us, “Flee from internal fights please! They must not exist among us!”

Charles and Sue Whitehead

Charles and Sue Whitehead

Married to Sue, with 4 children and 6 grandchildren, Charles Whitehead was baptized in the Holy Spirit in 1976 and is a Life Member of the English NSC. He served as President of the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Council from 1989 to 2000 and is today the Chairman of ICC, an ecumenical foundation working for unity and evangelisation in the power of the Spirit throughout the worldwide body of Christ. In 2002 Pope Saint John Paul II made him a Knight of St. Gregory the Great in recognition of his service to the Church.